


The Mermaid and the Beast

by Night_StormCaptain



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid, F/M, Okay actually it's a mix of the two, bc this is my AU so I can do what I want, eventual SoRiKai on the side, it's not meant to be set in a certain culture or period, so there's no such thing as an anachronism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2019-11-04 06:58:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17893700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Night_StormCaptain/pseuds/Night_StormCaptain
Summary: She is a mermaid, her voice taken in exchange for legs, a desperate deal made to save a lost friend.  He is a human prince, cursed to remain a heartless beast until he can move past obsession and find true love.  Their paths have crossed once before, though neither of them are aware.  The very stars seem aligned against them, for to break her curse would be to seal his, and to break his curse would be to seal hers.  Amidst a tangle of curses, contracts, and confusion, can true love possibly prevail?





	1. Prologue: A Fairy Tale Beginning

Once upon a time, a young prince named Terra undertook a voyage with his parents to a distant land.  The prince was adventurous and headstrong, with a head full of dreams and a heart full of love. He believed himself destined for greatness, and was convinced that nothing could go wrong in his life.

Thus, it came as a shock when a storm overtook his ship on its return journey.  The fierce lightning and relentless waves dashed the ship to pieces, scattering the crew and passengers.  Many were lost in the depths, including Terra’s parents. Terra himself would have drowned as well, had it not been for the influence of a young mermaid with a fascination with humans.  She saw him sinking and rescued him, carrying him safely to shore.

Of course, Terra was aware of none of this.  All he knew of his mysterious rescuer was that she sang to him with the most exquisite alto voice he had ever heard.  Once he returned to his family’s castle near the sea, a hollow imitation of the lively home it had once been following the shipwreck, he became fixated with the idea of his mysterious rescuer.  He searched far and wide, sending his few remaining servants to do the same, in order to find the girl with the magnificent voice, to no avail.

One day, a hunched, homely young woman came to Terra’s castle, claiming at the gate that she wished to sing for the prince.  Terra came out to meet her and was repulsed by what he saw, deciding instantly that this woman was not his mystery woman. Her singing only confirmed his belief.  When she asked if she might stay anyway in hopes of earning his love, he rebuffed her, determined to only marry his mystery woman. When she implored him to allow her to stay once more, he threw her out in the rain.

The woman became angry, and all at once her countenance changed, becoming beautiful beyond all belief, but harsh.  She spoke the painful truth to Terra: that he had allowed his obsession with his mystery woman to cloud his eyes to what love truly was.  She cursed him to become a heartless beast until the day he could learn to truly love someone and earn their true love in return, then vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Terra demanded that his servants redouble their efforts to find the mystery woman, but they had had enough of his antics and were unwilling to serve someone who was so clearly a beast both inside and out.  They abandoned his service, leaving the cursed prince alone in his castle. Alone, at least, until a mer-human hybrid boy entered the gates to steal a rose from the gardens.


	2. The Other Side

“Wait up, Aqua!”  Aqua glanced over her shoulder to see her friend Ventus struggling to keep up with her, his vibrant green tail swishing frantically.

Despite her excitement, Aqua slowed her pace.  “Sorry, Ven! It’s just, we’re so close!” Indeed, the shipwreck the friends had been searching for that whole morning had just become visible up ahead.

“Which means we can slow down now, right?”  Ven swam up next to Aqua, pouting slightly.

“Oh, all right.”  Aqua grinned to show she meant no harm.

Despite their reduced pace, it only took Aqua and Ven a few minutes to reach the shipwreck.  True to the rumors, the hull was still remarkably intact aside from a large, ragged hole in the port side.  Aqua swam through eagerly, with Ven following close behind. Inside, it became clear that the ship had sunk fairly recently, with barnacles and algae just barely beginning to accumulate on the floors and walls.

A flash of something shiny beneath a pile of debris caught Aqua’s eye, and she darted over.  Pushing aside broken pieces of what must once have been some sort of wooden container, she found a piece of metal like a tiny trident, but with four prongs instead of three, just longer than her hand.  “What an interesting object.” She turned it over and over in her hands, looking at it from different angles before tucking it into her bag. “Find anything yet?”

“I think there might be… nope, nevermind, just more broken stuff,” Ven sighed.  “Are you sure this was such a good idea, Aqua? Something feels… off.”

Aqua put a hand on her sword hilt.  “Oh, come on, we’ll be fine!”

“Do you hear something moving?”

“All I hear is you chattering,” Aqua assured him playfully.

“Well, if you’re sure…”  Ven turned to continue searching for treasures and let out a yelp.

Aqua was by his side in an instant.  “What’s wrong?”

In response, Ven held out his left palm, which was bleeding from a shallow scratch.  “I think there must have been a broken porthole or something.”

“Here, I think I have…”  Aqua reached into her bag, pulling out a scrap of the soft stuff humans put on themselves that Ven had called “croth.”  She had learned from experience that it was useful to keep some on her on expeditions like this, just in case. She wrapped it around his hand to stop the bleeding, tying the ends together so it would stay.

“Now we can-”  Aqua was interrupted by a loud  _ thunk  _ that caused the ship to shake around them.

“ _ Now  _ can you hear something?” Ven yelped, a note of panic in his voice.

There was another  _ thunk,  _ followed by a loud  _ crash,  _ and a great white shark burst upward through the floorboards.  Aqua gestured to the hole they had entered through and drew her sword.  “Swim for it! I’ll hold it off!”

Ven drew his own sword.  “I can help!”

“No!” Aqua protested.  “It probably smelled your blood, so you’re the one it’s after!  Get to safety, and I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

Ven reluctantly left the ship, and Aqua put herself between the shark and the hole in the hull, propelling herself forward to meet the shark at full full tilt, slicing open its pointed snout.  The shark surged forward, snapping its jaws angrily, and Aqua met it once more, this time jabbing her sword inside its mouth. It bit down, its teeth narrowly missing her hand, and she yanked her sword out.  Flicking her tail to keep herself moving, she pushed it back with a series of fierce slashes, then whirled around, her tail spinning rapidly to propel herself through the hole and toward safety.

Aqua could just barely make out Ven ahead of her, but with her longer, stronger tail, she soon caught up with him, laughing in exhilaration.  She returned her sword to its sheath and grinned at Ven. “You okay?”

Ven nodded and returned her smile.  “Yeah. You?”

“Of course!  We uh, might want to go somewhere that shark can’t get to us, though.”

Ven’s tail flicked nervously, his speed increasing.  “Uhhh, yeah. Good plan.” His tone was level. Mostly.

Aqua picked up her pace as well, glancing over her shoulder periodically.  Before long, the two friends reached an enormous spire of rock that rose from the seafloor all the way up past the surface.  Unbeknownst to anyone besides them, the inside was hollow. Aqua moved aside a tangle of kelp to reveal a cleverly concealed hole, which Ven swam through without hesitation.  She followed, letting the kelp drift back into place behind her.

Inside the spire was a treasure trove.  The layered walls made for perfect natural shelves, which Aqua had filled with all sorts of strange and beautiful things that had found their way from the surface world to the bottom of the sea.  Light filtered in through a hole that opened on the sky high above, illuminating strange and wondrous creations made from wood, metal, croth, and any number of other foreign materials.

Aqua opened her bag, disappointed at her meager haul from the day’s adventure.  At least she had the miniature four-pronged trident. She turned to Ven, the expert on all things human.  “So, what exactly is this?”

“Hang on, we need to do this right.”  A small smile began to spread across Ven’s face as he rocketed toward the surface, and Aqua followed, smiling herself as she realized what was coming.

The two friends broke the surface of the water, and Ven hauled himself onto the ledge at the edge of the hole in the top of the spire.  As he did so, his scales began to shimmer. He grabbed a piece of croth from a shelf near the top of the cave and wrapped it around himself, rising to stand on two human feet.  Aqua had seen him transform many times, but the novelty of a merboy who was also half human never failed to amaze her.

“Now, what have you brought me this time?” Ven adopted a professorly tone, and Aqua restrained a giggle as she handed him the not-a-trident.  He examined it closely, then twirled it between his fingers, which would have looked impressive if he hadn’t then dropped it into the water.

Aqua laughed, picking it up and handing it to him once again.  “So, what is it, Professor Ventus?”

“This, my dear student, is what we humans call a fonk.”  Ven swished the fonk through the air. “We use it to move things we don’t want to touch with our bare hands.”

“Small things,” Aqua guessed, giving the fonk a critical look.

“Well, in this case, yes, but of course fonks come in all sizes.”  Aqua had a feeling Ven was improvising, but after all, he  _ was  _ half human, which was more than she could say.  Although he had been raised underwater, he had visited land several times and even met humans.  This, of course, was a closely-guarded secret; if anyone from the sea besides Aqua found out about Ven’s heritage, he would be shunned or even imprisoned, and if anyone from land found out, the world of the merfolk would be exposed.

Aqua pushed those thoughts from her mind.  “Thanks, professor!” She grinned at Ven. “You might want to come back now so no one sees you.”

Ven looked slightly crestfallen.  “Right. Yeah.” He stepped into the water and let himself sink.  A green shimmer surrounded his legs, and before long he was a merboy again.  He handed the fonk back to Aqua. “Where do you want to put this?”

Aqua scanned the shelves.  “Probably with things its own size,” she mused.

However, before Aqua had a chance to find a place for the fonk, she heard the voice of one of her father, King Eraqus’s attendants in the distance.  “Aqua! Ventus! Where are you?”

“Sea and sky!” she cursed, hastily tucking the fonk into her bag and stashing the bag near the entrance to her treasure trove.  She shoved aside the kelp and shot out of the cave, followed closely by Ven. “Over here!” she called, swimming over to meet the attendant.

“Thank goodness,” the attendant breathed.  “Your father feared you and your friend had gone to the surface again.”

_ If only,  _ Aqua thought longingly as she followed the attendant home to her father’s palace.


	3. Part of That World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, from here on out, chapters are most likely going to start getting longer, but in the meantime, here's one more short one. Enjoy!

Over the next few months of lessons in music, swordplay, and general princessing, Aqua grew more and more restless.  With every day that passed, her desire to see the world on land and learn more about humans than the little that Ventus knew increased.  Every time she brought this up to her father or even hinted at it, he made it abundantly clear that he wanted his daughter to have nothing to do with the surface world.

To cope, Aqua visited her treasure trove almost every day, going through her human artifacts and imagining what life must be like up on the shore.  Though her imagination was vivid, she knew her wildest dreams couldn’t even come close to truly living on land. Every chance she had, she pressed Ven for details, details that he tried to give despite his limited knowledge and experience on the shore.

One late afternoon found the pair hanging out in the treasure trove once more, bored out of their skulls.  Aqua idly twirled the fonk between her fingers. “Think there are any new shipwrecks?”

“Not nearby,” Ven sighed, drifting over to sift through a box of bits and bobs.  “I don’t know, maybe it’s time to give this whole thing with humans a rest.”

“How can you say that?” Aqua protested.  “You’re the only one who can turn into one, and you want to give it a rest?”

“What more are you going to learn from the random little pieces of human culture we find in shipwrecks?”

“I don’t know!”  Aqua threw her hands up in frustration.  “All I know is that I’m not satisfied under the sea with my whole life planned out for me!”

“Is that so?” said a deep voice outside the spire, and Aqua froze.  The mat of kelp concealing the entrance moved aside, and in swam King Eraqus, a stern, almost angry expression on his normally kind face.  “Aqua. What is this?”

Aqua faced her father unapologetically.  “This is my collection. It’s an absolute treasure trove of human culture that I think we can learn a lot from.”

Eraqus scanned the cavern, unimpressed.  “Just because they make things does not mean humans have anything that can be called  _ culture. _ ”

“Father, that’s not-”

“Silence, Aqua!”  Aqua shrank back, unused to her father raising his voice with her.  “This obsession of yours is nothing short of dangerous. It’s time you move on and learn to stay in the world where you belong.  And you, Ventus — I would have expected better from a ward of my court.” Eraqus seized each of them by one arm, his powerful black-scaled tail propelling all of them out of the cavern despite the two friends’ pointless struggling.

Eraqus drew his trident, the symbol of the power of all the sea, raising it high over his head.  “Father, what are you doing?” Aqua cried out.

“I’m putting an end to this foolishness!”  Eraqus pointed the trident at the spire, and with a deep rumble, it began to collapse, rubble tumbling down the sides.

“Please, stop!” Aqua begged, grabbing her father’s arm, but he shook her off, unaffected by her plea.  She could only watch as the spire containing her beloved treasures collapsed into nothing more than a pile of rubble, trapping its contents below.  “Father, why?” Her eyes stung, her tears washing away unnoticed in the salty current.

Eraqus lowered his trident, turning to regard Aqua gravely.  He didn’t apologize, but his eyes crinkled with sympathy. “This is for your own good, Aqua.  You are the princess of the ocean. It is time for you to start acting like it. Now come.”

Eraqus’s tone left no room for argument, so Aqua and Ven followed the Sea King back to the palace.  An enormous structure of gleaming stone, decorated with intricate mosaics of shells and gemstones, the palace would have been beautiful if Aqua’s heart didn’t ache to be anywhere but there.  Once inside, she made straight for her chambers, not wanting to face anyone.

However, Aqua’s solitude didn’t last long before there was a knock on the door.  “Go away,” she groaned, not wanting to deal with anyone at the moment.

“It’s me,” came Ven’s voice from outside.

Aqua sighed.  “Come in, I guess.”

The door swung open, and Ven swam slowly into Aqua’s lounge.  “You okay?”

“I guess?  I don’t know.”  Aqua stared determinedly at the floor.  “It just seems so unfair.”

“I can’t believe your father would really do that,” Ven agreed.

“Looks like he has.”  Aqua didn’t know what else to say.  She bit back a sob as the reality that everything she had collected over years of exploration and curiosity was buried beyond her reach.

Ven swam to her side, putting a hand on her shoulder.  “Hey, it’ll be okay. There’ll be more shipwrecks, you can find more human stuff.”

“And put it where?” Aqua shot back.  “And what if Father finds out and destroys it all again?  Is it even worth it?” Her voice caught in her throat.

Ven gave her a brief hug.  “I’m here for you, even if I don’t know how to— wait.”  He pulled away, his eyes sparkling, and Aqua tilted her head in curiosity.  “I have an idea. Come with me.”

“Where are we going?” Aqua asked as Ven opened the window.

“You’ll see!”  He wasn’t laughing, exactly, but his tone was mirthful, and it gave Aqua hope.  She followed him out the window, checking to make sure none of the palace inhabitants could see her sneaking out.  As soon as the coast was clear, the two friends shot off away from the palace, following the tides.

For once, Aqua found herself having trouble keeping up with Ven in the merboy’s frenzied excitement.  “Seriously, what do you have planned?”

“Something really special!” Ven promised eagerly, his tail whirling even faster.  With their breakneck pace, it wasn’t long before they had left the palace and the whole mer city far behind them.  The water grew lighter, and Aqua realized that even as they skimmed the ocean floor, the surface was growing closer.

“We’re going to the shore?” Aqua exclaimed.

Ven nodded eagerly.  “I have an idea! But we have to get there first.”

Within a few minutes, they were forced to break the surface in order to keep swimming.  Aqua allowed herself to settle on the sand with her upper body protruding from the water, while Ven continued onward until his tail began to shimmer, becoming legs once more.  He immediately headed over to a nearby outcropping of rock, pulling out several strangely-shaped pieces of croth and putting them on his body.

The action gave Aqua a startling realization.  “You come up here a lot, don’t you?”

Ven shifted from one foot to the other self-consciously.  “Well, not a whole lot, but when I get the chance to sneak out.  There’s no human civilization within miles, so it’s safe, but it gets cold without the croth things, and I know all humans use them, so I keep some here for my visits.”

Aqua hummed.  “So you don’t think we’re in any danger?”

Ven shook his head.  “Not here. See the cliffs?”  He gestured around, and Aqua realized that stone cliffs rose high above the sheltered little cove where Ven had brought her to shore.  A steep, rocky path twisted back and forth on itself all the way up one of the sheer natural walls; aside from that, there was no way for a human to access the minuscule beach.

Aqua smiled.  “Thanks for bringing me here, Ven.”

“This isn’t the surprise!” Ven protested.  “I’m going to go farther on land.”

Aqua’s smile drooped slightly.  “You know I can’t go with you.”

Ven nodded impatiently.  “Yes, yes. That’s why I’m going to bring you back something really special — something that can only be found on land!”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”  Despite her words, Aqua’s eyes lit up.

“Come on, it’ll be fine!  Besides, I want to do something special, something to make up for you losing all your treasures.”

Aqua laughed a little shakily.  “I can’t stop you, can I?”

Ven shook his head.  “This is something I really want to do.”

“Okay.  Just, be safe.”

Ven saluted.  “I’ll make sure to be back within a week, no matter what.”  He waved to Aqua, then turned and began making his way up the cliff path.  Aqua remained in the water, watching her friend until he crested the cliff and passed out of her sight.  Once he was gone, she turned and swam back toward her father’s kingdom, hoping Ven really knew what he was doing.


	4. The Rose Thief

At the top of the cliff, Ventus turned to wave goodbye to Aqua.  From his lofty height, the princess seemed little more than a speck, a glint of blue scales in the water far below.  He waved to her one last time, unable to tell whether she could see his gesture and whether she was returning it, then took a deep breath and turned to face the land ahead of him.

 _Land._ Although some part of Ven knew that his father had been human, that half of him belonged on land, it was hard to make himself believe it when he had lived the vast majority of his life beneath the waves.  His untested legs felt wobbly and woefully inadequate for traveling great distances compared with his long, limber tail, and he missed the sensation of being held up by the waves.

Not to mention Aqua.   _This is for her,_ Ven reminded himself stubbornly.  He strode off down a path that led from the cliff’s edge into a vast forest stretching as far as he could see.  The trees were thicker and sturdier than any seaweed forest, and Ven marveled at them as he went, finding himself enjoying some of the differences between the two worlds.  Having a designated place to walk was certainly one concept he was entirely unused to, and he found it ingenious, though he supposed it would simply be intuitive for real humans.

As Ven walked, it occurred to him that there might not be any human civilization nearby, and thus no way for him to obtain a part of the human world to bring back to Aqua.  He shook off the thought. He had promised Aqua he’d be back within a week, which meant he could travel away from the sea for three days, spend a day searching for the perfect gift, and backtrack for the last three days.  In three days of walking, he was bound to find humans somewhere, right?

It hadn’t exactly been early when Ven had set out, and now the sun was beginning to set.  Under the cover of the trees, the falling shadows seemed especially deep, their darkness accentuated by the loss of the ability to see in the dark that all merfolk possessed, which Ven surrendered whenever he took on human form.  It occurred to him that he’d want to find a place to sleep, and that it wouldn’t be as simple as finding someplace where the currents were calm. As a human, he’d need a place to lie down.

After some consideration, Ven decided to continue for a while and look for a place to sleep along the way.  He wasn’t sure exactly what he was looking for, but he figured it ought to be flat, soft, and relatively sheltered from the wind.  He kept his eyes peeled as he continued along the path, and because of that extra attention, he began to notice wildflowers growing along the edges of the path.  Or, no, perhaps not wildflowers, for they grew perfectly along the edges of the path, and only there.

As Ven continued along the path, the wildflowers grew thicker until he came to a place where the path fonked.  To the left, the path remained lined with flowers; to the right, the flowers continued for a few paces but receded quickly.  Intrigued by the flowers, he took the left fonk.

Farther down the left fonk, the path transformed from seldom-trodden dirt to weatherworn cobblestone.  Ven picked up his pace, emboldened by the evidence that humans lived nearby, or at least might have once lived nearby.

Ven rounded a bend in the path and couldn’t restrain a gasp at the sight that greeted his eyes.  There, tucked away amidst the towering trees, was a castle that nearly matched the palace of the Sea King in grandeur, though where the Sea King’s palace was open, elegant, and welcoming, this castle was a fortress, tall and forbidding.  A tall wrought-iron fence surrounded the structure, a pair of gates standing at the end of the path Ven had been following.

Ven felt his resolve waver staring up at the massive structure.   _You wanted humans and you found humans,_ he reminded himself.  If the perfect gift for Aqua could be found anywhere, it would be here.  That was enough to firm his resolve, and he tried the gate. To his surprise, it was unlocked, swinging open silently at his touch.

Tentative for more reasons than his inexperience on two legs, Ven stepped through the gate.  Beyond the fence was a magnificent if overgrown garden with roses of all shapes, sizes, and colors obscuring every inch of ground aside from the path, from the fence up to the castle wall.

As Ven approached the enormous doors of the castle itself, trying to decide whether to knock or just let himself in, he felt an enormous hand seize him by the back of his croth, lifting him into the air until suddenly he was face-to-face with a yellow-eyed monster too hideous to properly register.

The beast spoke in a deep rumble.  “Who dares trespass in my castle?”

“V-V-Ventus, sir,” Ven stammered.  “Please, I mean no harm. I’m merely searching for a gift to bring home to someone I care about.”

The beast scowled, his visage becoming even more horrible.  “A thief, is that it?”

“Not at all!” Ven protested.  “I wasn’t going to take anything without permission!  Look, if there’s nothing you’re willing to give me, could you at least spare one of your beautiful flowers?”

“Absolutely not!” the creature roared, and if Ven hadn’t been dangling in the air, he would have shrunk back in alarm.  The beast flung open one of the doors with the hand not holding Ven and made for a set of stairs leading down… and down and down and down and down.  Ven was certain his legs would have given out if he had tried to walk down all of them.

At the bottom of the stairs, the beast entered a corridor, pushing open a door on the left side near the stairs.  “Thieves and trespassers must be punished,” he growled, throwing Ven unceremoniously through the door.

Ven tumbled over himself, obtaining multiple bruises in the process before he managed to stop rolling and right himself.  He let out a soft groan. “But I didn’t do anything!”

“Your intent was clear.”  Ven’s captor shut the door to what he now realized was a cell with an ominous _boom._

Ven surveyed his dismal surroundings, trying to keep calm.  His cell was made entirely of stone, except for the door, which was solid iron.  A small, barred window near the top of the door let in the only light, a dim flicker from a torch outside.  In one corner of the cell was a pile of… something. It reminded Ven of seaweed, but stiffer and smoother. Pressing into the pile with one hand, he found it crackly, but at least it had some give to it.  As he realized that it was probably there for him to sleep on, the human word for the stuff came back to him: spraw, or something like that. In the corner opposite the pile of spraw was a hole, the use of which Ven could only guess at.

 Ven sat down on the spraw pile, tears pricking behind his eyes as it became abundantly clear to him that he was stuck here indefinitely.  “I’m sorry I failed you, princess.”


	5. The Mage of the Depths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I did have to make the joke with the Mage's name. No, I'm not sorry.

Ten days had passed since Ventus had scaled the cliffs and vanished into the human world.   _ One week.   _ That was what he told Aqua.  It had been nearly half again as long as he promised since her best friend had left, and the sea princess was growing worried.  It wasn’t like Ven to lose track of time, certainly not for three entire days.

Worst-case scenarios played in Aqua’s mind as she swam once again toward the cove where she had last seen Ven.  It had become a habit since his departure, as if visiting the spot would bring him back sooner. The swim felt considerably longer when Aqua was propelled by nervousness rather than excitement and deterred by the fear that he might not be back yet — that he might  _ never  _ return.

No, Aqua couldn’t entertain that thought.  Ven was like a little brother, though she suspected his feelings for her went deeper than that.  Of course he would be okay. Perhaps he had only gotten lost, or maybe some kind humans had invited him to stay with them for a while and he had been unable to decline.  Maybe he was perfectly fine, and they’d be able to have a good laugh over how worried she’d been soon enough.

Or maybe he wasn’t okay.  There were predators on land with more confusing ways than sharks.  Maybe he’d been attacked by wolves or bears. Or maybe the humans he’d meant hadn’t been kind at all, and he was being held somewhere, or had been left for dead.  What if he was already dead? Perish the thought!

With anxiety increasing her pace, it didn’t take Aqua long to reach the little cove where she’d last seen Ven.  To her dismay, it looked exactly as she’d left it: utterly abandoned, untouched by human or mer since Ven’s departure.

Stubbornly, Aqua decided to stick around in hopes that Ven would show up sooner or later.  Normally she was extremely conscientious about making it to all her lessons and engagements, but her nerves were frayed.  If there was any chance that Ven would appear at the top of the cliff, she wanted to be there when it happened.

Aqua remained in place for hours, though her swirling thoughts wouldn’t allow her to relax.  She grew more and more on edge as the day slipped away with still no sign of Ven. Thus, when someone appeared beside her, she nearly decapitated him before fully registering his presence.

“Whoa there!”  A merman she had never seen before lounged in the surf next to her.  “You could hurt someone with that!”

Aqua regarded the merman critically.  He had a white-scaled tail and long black hair with two white streaks in it, tied back behind his head.  Two jagged scars marred his harsh face, one partially covered by the lucine shell he wore as an eyepatch.  “That’s… kind of the point of a sword.” Nevertheless, she resheathed the weapon, embarrassed by her hasty reaction.

“I gather you’re worried about your half-human friend?”  The stranger’s tone was rough and lazy.

Aqua glared at him, suddenly suspicious.  “What— how do you know about him?”

“My master has his ways.”  This clarified exactly nothing.  “He finds you… intriguing.”

“Who exactly is your master?”

“Why, the Mage of the Depths, the mighty Seahanort himself!”  The merman spread his arms wide.

Aqua turned to leave.  “I wondered if you’d say that.  I’ve heard enough.”

“Are you sure?” the merman pressed, to Aqua’s annoyance.  “My master knows exactly where your friend is, and how to rescue him.”

“ _ Rescue  _ him?” Aqua exclaimed.

“That got your attention!” the merman noted.  Aqua was starting to really dislike him. “And let’s be real, my master is the only one who will help you.  The only other person with enough power to save your friend is King Eraqus, and do you  _ really  _ think he’d be willing to assist a half-human?”

Aqua gritted her teeth, hating that the stranger was probably right.  “What exactly do you want from me? Everyone knows Seahanort never does anything out of pure altruism.”

The merman shrugged.  “Who can say? You don’t have to agree to anything.  I’m just asking you to come back with me and have a chat with him.  Maybe you’ll come to a deal, maybe you won’t. But if you don’t, let me just say this much: you have no chance of seeing your little friend again.”

That sealed it.  Aqua set her jaw.  “Fine. I’ll hear your master out.  But I’m not entering any contracts!”

“You may find it’s your best option,” the merman pointed out.  “The name’s Xigbar, by the way. And of course I already know who you are, the lovely Princess Aqua.  Come with me.”

Aqua reluctantly followed Xigbar.  At first, they seemed to be going back in the direction of the royal city, but soon their course began to veer.  Skimming the ocean floor, they soon came to a steep drop-off. Aqua supposed that made sense, given Seahanort’s title of Mage of the Depths.  Xigbar didn’t hesitate, plunging over the edge and deep into the colder waters below. Steeling her nerves, Aqua followed him down.

Xigbar led Aqua beneath a rough stone archway down a steep, winding tunnel.  Aqua tried to ignore the pictures on the walls, stained glass images of faces frozen in various states of terror.  Eventually, the tunnel widened into an enormous cavern with several other branching passageways leading in different directions.  An oversized bubble filled with swirling multicolored gases drifted in the center of the cavern. Before the bubble with his back to them drifted a bald merman with a completely shineless white tail.

The merman raised his arms, and the gases drifted into the shapes of Aqua and Xigbar.  He made a low humming noise and turned to face the newcomers. “Princess, welcome.” His voice was high-pitched and scratchy.  “Thank you for bringing her, Xigbar. You are dismissed.”

Xigbar bowed and swam away, and the bald merman pressed his fingers together, regarding Aqua with a shrewd golden gaze.  “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Princess Aqua. I am Seahanort.”

“A pleasure,” Aqua echoed cautiously.  “What do you want with me?”

Seahanort shook his head.  “No, no, I summoned you here so I could help you.  You see, your friend Ventus is in grave danger.”

Aqua frowned.  “Xigbar said the same thing.  I’m not sure I believe either of you.”

“Then allow me to show you.”  Seahanort waved a hand, and the image in the enormous bubble swirled and changed, resolving itself into a young human boy with spiky blond hair shivering in a stone room somewhere on land.

“Ven!” Aqua exclaimed, horrified, rushing toward the bubble.

Seahanort held out an arm to stop her.  “This is merely a projection of your friend.  I ask that you do not touch.”

Aqua narrowed her eyes.  “How do I know it’s not just an illusion you created?”

“I suppose you don’t,” Seahanort replied evenly.  “You are, of course, free to leave and continue waiting for your friend.  I’m sure he will not blame you for anything that happens to him hence that you could have saved him from.”

Aqua scowled, clenching her teeth and fists.  She found herself backed into a corner. “Is there anything I can do for him?”

Seahanort shook his head gravely.  “Not as you are. However, were I to grant you legs, I’m certain you could find a way to liberate him from his place of imprisonment.”  The picture of Ventus vanished, replaced by an image of a forbidding stone castle surrounded by an iron gate and a somewhat incongruous rose garden.

“What’s the catch?” Aqua demanded.  “I don’t believe for a second that you intend to just give me legs and let me go.”

“There is, of course, a price for everything,” Seahanort agreed.  “I am willing to offer you a very amiable deal, however. I will give you legs… for one year.  In that time, you must find and liberate your friend, and the both of you must return to the Sea Palace.  And you will surrender your voice as the source of energy for my enchantment.”

Aqua scowled.  “That’s it? It seems… too easy.”

“Of course not,” Seahanort replied smoothly.  “I wasn’t finished. If you fail to return both yourself and Ventus to the Sea Palace within the year, your soul will belong to me.”

“There it is.”  Aqua struggled to keep her composure; the Mage of the Depths was notorious for his collection of the souls of merfolk he had ‘helped.’  “What makes you think I’ll agree to this?”

Seahanort steepled his fingers, smirking broadly.  “Because you have no choice. Unless, of course, you’d rather leave your friend to die.  I have given you my terms. You may take them or leave them.”

Seahanort waved a hand, and a roll of parchment appeared.  Upon examination, Aqua saw that the terms were written on it exactly as he had outlined them.  Her heart and mind warred briefly within her, logic forbidding her from signing the contract, emotion demanding it.  In the end, her heart won out, and she scrawled her name on the line at the bottom of the contract.

“Excellent, excellent.”  Seahanort rolled up the parchment, and it disappeared with a small  _ poof.   _ He began a series of complicated gestures, and as he did so, Aqua felt a fierce tearing sensation in her throat.  She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out, only light. Seahanort wrapped the light around his fingers as he continued gesturing.

Aqua felt her tail begin to stiffen and seize up.   _ What did you do to me?  _ she tried to say, but no sound escaped her.  Seahanort gave no sign of having noticed, continuing his gestures.  Aqua’s tail began to split, and she wondered if it felt this  _ wrong  _ for Ven whenever he transformed, though she doubted it.

Within moments, Aqua had lost her tail, and with it, her ability to speak, breathe underwater, and see in the dark.  In exchange, she had legs, as well as… whatever humans could do. Panic clawed at her as she realized her human lungs wouldn’t hold air long before she needed to refill them.  She swam frantically out of Seahanort’s cave, surging for the surface far above. Just as she was sure her chest would explode if she didn’t breathe, her head broke the surface, and she took a deep gulp of salt-scented air.

_ One year.   _ Aqua now had one year to find and rescue Ven, assuming she could make it to shore.  She could feel her frail human body beginning to chill, and she began to swim, using her legs in an awkward imitation of a tail.  It was frustratingly slow going, but at least she was moving. At least she was finally able to take action instead of waiting every day on the shore with no real hope of Ven appearing.

What could have been hours or eons later, Aqua pulled herself ashore, her entire body aching.  Her sword felt heavy at her hip. Her  _ human  _ hip.  The top of her human  _ leg.   _ She drew the weapon, using it as a prop to stand for the first time.  Her legs felt about as sturdy as sea sponges, wobbling beneath her as she experimented with putting one foot in front of the other, getting a feel for walking.  Once she was able to do that, she turned toward the cliff path and let out a long sigh. She still had a long way to go.


	6. A Fair Exchange

It occurred to Aqua that humans wore croth on their bodies, and that Ven had hidden some nearby.  He was smaller than her, and it was possible he had only stored the pieces there the pieces he currently wore there, but she figured it was worth checking.  She found the outcropping of rock where he had gotten his croth pieces, and sure enough, there was a big, billowy black one.

After some trial and error, Aqua figured out that the long tubes were for her arms, the hole between them was for her head, and the rest of the croth was meant to hang loosely around her.  There was a flap of croth on one side of the head hole that she wasn’t quite sure what to do with, so she positioned it behind her head so it wouldn’t get in her way.

As soon as Aqua figured out how the croth worked, she began to climb the steep path up the cliff.  It was steep, narrow, and rocky, immediately testing the limits of her brand-new legs. She kept her sword in her hand, freely using it to support her weight when her legs refused.  Up one slope. Turn around. Up the next slope. Turn around. Aqua’s muscles burned in ways she hadn’t known possible. How did humans stand it?

After climbing and climbing for she didn’t even know how long, Aqua’s legs buckled.  She dropped to her knees, opening her mouth to let out a silent cry as they scraped the rocky path.  Sure, she had gotten scrapes before, but underwater, everything moved slower, so impacts tended to hurt less, as she was finding out.  She shifted around, trying to find a comfortable position and eventually ending up lying on her back, staring upward. To her dismay, despite how long she had been climbing, the cliff still loomed high above her.  She attempted to groan aloud at the sight, gritting her teeth when no sound came out.

By the time Aqua felt ready to continue, the sun had passed its zenith and was beginning to approach the western horizon.  She hauled herself to her feet, her muscles screaming in protest, and started up the path once more.  _ Just one more switchback… just one more switchback…   _ That was her mantra as she trudged up and up and up and up.  She felt hyper-aware of how bright and hot the sun was, nearly blinding her on her way up every other switchback.  Strangely, though, she didn’t seem to be drying all the way off, despite how long she’d been out of the water. She felt sticky and strange, and she wondered if this was a human thing.

The moment Aqua reached the top of the cliff, she collapsed once again, this time lying flat on her stomach with her feet sticking off the edge.  Her breath came in short, labored gasps. This time, though, she didn’t let herself rest for long, dragging herself reluctantly to her feet once more and turning to look back the way she had come.  The ocean stretched in the distance as far as she could see, far below her. The height was dizzying, much more daunting on land than a drop like that would have been in water because of how unforgiving she knew the fall would be.

Aqua didn’t allow herself time to contemplate that, turning instead to face the land.  A forest stood before her, spreading out to either side and blocking anything else from view.  Right in front of her was a path leading deeper into the forest, and she set off down it.

Without the exertion of trudging uphill, Aqua found herself enjoying the scenery.  The plant life on land differed drastically from sea life, and the bright green leaves, thick verdant undergrowth, and scattered tiny yellow and white flowers made her realize how much she’d been missing — if this was just the plant life, she couldn’t imagine what the rest of the land might be like!

For some reason, more flowers seemed to be growing by the path than anywhere else.  Aqua supposed it made sense, since they had more access to sunlight there, but it was strange that they grew so perfectly on the edges, never straying into the middle.  Her curiosity grew as she continued along the path and the flowers began to grow thicker along the edges, never encroaching on the path itself even as more colors and varieties began to appear.  Aqua didn’t know any of their names, only that they were more beautiful than anything she’d ever seen.

Aqua reminded herself that she wasn’t on land to enjoy the view; she had a mission.  Recalling the castle she had seen in the bubble in Seahanort’s cavern, she decided that the flowers along the path were a sign that she was headed in the right direction.  She picked up her pace, and when she reached the fonk in the road, she took the left fonk without hesitation, following the flowers.

Aqua felt vindicated when she rounded the bend and saw the castle looming before her.  In person, it looked even more intimidating than it had in Seahanort’s bubble, the overgrown garden seeming more threatening than cheerful.  She wasn’t going to back down now, though. Steeling her nerves, she pushed open the gate, noting that the path was more overgrown inside the gate than outside.  Avoiding thorny tendrils, she approached the grand doors of the castle.

Doors.  That was a concept that the mer world didn’t really use.  How did humans approach someone else’s door? Obviously they were there to keep people out, so just opening the door and going through was out of the question.  Maybe she should open it and call out? Wait, no, that wouldn’t work for obvious reasons.

Eventually Aqua realized that she was getting nowhere just standing there.  She pushed open one of the doors and stepped through, finding herself in an enormous entrance hall that might once have been grand was was now dim and dingy, with low illumination and a coating of dust.  Directly in front of her at the other end of the hall was a grand, sweeping staircase, while multiple doors lined the walls on other side. One particular door on her left stood out; unlike the other doors with their fine wood and colored glass, this door was made of solid iron, with a barred window near the top.  She reasoned that this must be the door to the dungeon.

As Aqua approached the door, it creaked open, and she froze.  Her mouth tried to form words, but of course no sound came out.  This was going to take some getting used to. The door swayed back and forth as if to invite her in.  This was seriously creepy, but she remembered that Ven had been in a cell of some sort, so she drew her sword and passed through.  Beyond the door was a stone spiral staircase, and she began her descent.

Aqua reflected that climbing back up the stairs once she rescued Ven had the potential to be as miserable as climbing the cliff, depending on how long the staircase proved to be.  Her fears were not allayed as she progressed deeper and deeper and the stairs gave no sign of ending any time soon. Before long, her legs were burning once more, and it took all her efforts not to fall face-first down the rest of the stairs.

At long last, Aqua reached the bottom.  There was a door there as well, identical to the one at the top of the stairs, and like the one at the top, it swung open before she reached it.  She wondered if all the doors in the castle would do that, but she seriously doubted Ven’s cell door would simply open for her.

Beyond the door was a corridor lined with flickering torches and more identical doors on either side.  Aqua peered through the bars of each cell door, searching for Ven. The dungeon seemed deserted at first, but when she came to the third cell on the left, someone stirred, revealing a mess of spiky blond hair, drier than she had ever seen it but undeniably belonging to Ventus.  She tried to rattle the door, only to find it too firmly set in its frame to make any noise. Instead, she slapped it with her hands.

Ven rolled over, his eyes widening when he recognized Aqua.  He rushed to the door, straining to see through the window. “Aqua!  What— how— why— what?”

Aqua tried to answer and once again found her voice absent.  With a huff, she began gesturing, trying to convey that she was there to save Ven.

Ven didn’t seem to understand.  “Aqua, what’s going on? You need to get out of here before he finds you!”

_ Not without you,  _ Aqua mouthed, shaking her head and pointing at Ven for emphasis.

There was a loud, metallic  _ boom  _ behind Aqua, and Ven’s eyes widened in alarm.  Aqua whirled and found herself face-to-face with the most disturbing person she had ever seen, if he could even be called a person.  He towered over her, glaring down at her through piercing golden eyes. His skin was rough and gray over grotesquely bulging muscles, and multiple long, crooked growths sprouted from the sides of his head, trailing behind him like a mockery of hair.  Most disturbing of all, there was a gaping hole in his chest where a mer or (she assumed) human heart ought to be.

“What are you doing here?” the beast demanded in a deep, rumbling voice.  “Who are you?”

“Don’t hurt her!” Ven piped up.  “Please, she’s only here because of me!”  Aqua rapidly shook her head, trying to get Ven to stop talking, but he ploughed on.  “She has no voice, I don’t know how she’s even here but it’s my fault, I know it! Please don’t hurt her!”

“You really are nothing but trouble, aren’t you?” the beast growled menacingly at Ven.

Aqua stamped one foot repeatedly on the ground, trying to get the beast’s attention.  Unfortunately, it worked. The beast turned his golden glare on Aqua once more. She refused to quail before him, standing her ground despite the aches in her legs.  She pointed at Ven, mimed bars, crossed and uncrossed her hands while shaking her head, pointed at herself, mimed bars again, and nodded.

The beast blinked, seemingly taken aback by her crude method of communication.  “You want… to take his place?” Aqua nodded furiously, making a pleading gesture with both hands, and the beast hummed deeply.  “He did say he was stealing for someone else’s sake… was that you?”

Aqua nodded, casting a concerned glance at Ven.  Ven, for his part, continued to protest. “I wasn’t stealing anything!  And she’s not at fault here!”

“Nevertheless, she seems absolutely determined to take your place.  Who am I to stand in her way?” Despite his reasonable manner, his voice remained menacing, as if daring Ven to argue.  Before the half-merboy could argue, the beast withdrew a key from his pocket, dragging Ven out by one arm. Ven struggled, grasping at the black croth Aqua wore as she stepped into the cell to take his place, but the beast pulled him away, slamming the door behind Aqua.

As the beast dragged Ven to the stairs and presumably out of the castle, it occurred to Aqua that she would need to find a way out of here eventually, but she could worry about that later.  For now, Ven was safe and free, and that was what mattered.


	7. New Surroundings

Aqua had to admit that she wasn’t at all impressed with her new host’s hospitality.  The only place to rest her aching human limbs (she seriously missed floating) was a pile of… something.  Ven would probably know the name for it, but she was glad he wasn’t there anymore to tell her. She sat down on the stuff, finding it scratchy but not as uncomfortable as she had been expecting.

Before Aqua could even wonder how she was going to pass the time, the cell door swung slowly open.  Why did all the doors here keep doing that? With no small amount of trepidation, she stood and made her way to the doorway, looking around to see if anyone could have opened the door and then hidden, but as far as she could tell, there was nobody there.

“It’s okay, you can come out.”  Aqua nearly jumped out of her skin, struggling to maintain her footing and her dignity as she tried to figure out who had spoken.  The voice was that of an adolescent girl perhaps a few years younger than herself, assuming humans and mermaids aged similarly.

The hidden stranger giggled.  “You’re not going to be able to see me, you know.”  Aqua blinked, at a loss for how to communicate nonverbally with someone she couldn’t see, but the stranger seemed to understand.  “You can’t talk, right? That’s okay. You can’t see me, but I can see you just fine. Actually, I heard your whole conversation with my master.  Well, I say heard…” She giggled again.

Aqua mimed opening a door, then pointed where she thought the stranger was and tilted her head questioningly.

Another giggle.  Aqua started as she felt a small but steady hand grasp her wrist, adjusting where she was pointing.  “I’m right here. And yeah, I’m the one who opened the doors for you. I think it’s admirable that you wanted to save your friend and were willing to trade your freedom for his.  But hey, would you like to stay somewhere a little… I don’t know, nicer? My master doesn’t need to know, he doesn’t like the dungeon any more than his prisoners do, so he never visits if he can help it.”

Aqua nodded gratefully.  She already didn’t like the sound of her mysterious helper’s master, the beast who had imprisoned her, but the invisible girl seemed kind.

The invisible girl took Aqua’s hand.  “Come with me. I can show you where we’re going this way.”  She led Aqua out of the cell and began ascending the stairs.

About halfway up the seemingly eternal staircase, Aqua’s knees buckled, her legs collapsing underneath her.  “Are you okay?” her guide cried out.

Aqua nodded, her face burning as she climbed to her feet.  Did it count as a lie if she wasn’t actually speaking? Despite her silent insistence that she was okay, however, her guide slowed down.  She began talking to fill the silence, a welcome change for Aqua after spending the day voiceless and alone. “My name’s Kairi. I’m one of the servants here— well, sort of servants.  The real servants all left years ago after my master was cursed. I was just one of the kids who had nowhere else to go. We found an old magic book and turned ourselves invisible to protect ourselves, and now we take care of the castle as best we can.”

With one hand being used by Kairi to guide her and all her energy focused on climbing the stairs without falling, Aqua was unable to reply, but she listened intently to her new friend’s cheerful chatter.  Before long, they reached the top of the stairs, and the door once again swung open seemingly of its own volition, though of course this time Aqua recognized the cause as Kairi.

Kairi proceeded to lead Aqua up the grand staircase.  Seriously, why were humans so obsessed with stairs? Fortunately this staircase was less steep and much shorter.  At the top, a wide corridor led in either direction, and Kairi turned left, leading Aqua down the hall, up another set of stairs, and down another hall to an unassuming door.  “This is where you’ll be staying. I’ll make sure and bring you everything you need, though it’s probably best if you don’t let my master see you.”

Aqua tugged her hand away from Kairi and tilted her head questioningly, pointing at herself, then at the door of the room.  She paused, trying to think of a way to mime  _ forever. _

“Why not give her something to write with?” said a new voice.  Kairi yelped, but this time Aqua managed to keep her composure.  The voice was low and mellow, with a hint of teasing in it.

“Riku!  How long have you been there?” Kairi demanded.

“Long enough,” the new voice, Riku, replied cryptically.

Aqua felt something nudge her hand.  She grasped whatever it was, and the thing came into view as Riku presumably let go of it.  The thing was rectangular and about the length of her hand and a little bit wider than her palm, and it seemed to be made of myriad layers of something similar to croth, but stiffer and thinner.  As she stared at it blankly, a tube of some sort with a strangely-shaped, pointed end appeared on top of it, rolling down the rectangular thing. She caught it, studying it curiously and noticing a dark liquid like squid ink beading on its pointed end.

Aqua could practically feel the two invisible servants’ stares as it became increasingly apparent that she had no clue what to do with the items Riku had handed her.  “You never learned how to write?” Kairi exclaimed, aghast. Aqua shook her head ruefully.

“Okay…”  Riku’s voice became thoughtful.  “Maybe one of us can teach you while you’re here, but in the meantime, what were you trying to say?”

Aqua tried to hum and ended up coughing.  She really needed to stop trying to vocalize.  Gathering her thoughts, she pointed at herself, then outside the nearest window, then clasped her hands in a pleading gesture.

“You… want us to free you, don’t you?”  Riku’s voice was obviously pained. Aqua nodded, and the invisible boy let out a sigh.  “I’m sorry. We can get away with some things inside the castle, like giving you a better room, but our master would definitely catch us if we tried to sneak you out.”  The door Kairi had led Aqua to swung open. “At least you’ll be more comfortable here than in the dungeon.”

Aqua squeezed her eyes shut as if in resignation, turned toward the door… then whipped around and drew her sword, running back the way they had come.  Her invisible companions let out startled yells, and she heard their footsteps pounding behind her. If they wouldn’t help her, she’d just escape on her own!

Or at least, that was the plan.  Her legs, brand-new and unused to the exertion they’d been subjected to since being conjured into existence, betrayed her, collapsing underneath her before she even made it as far as the stairs.  Her sword slipped from her hand and clattered to the ground, and she grasped desperately for it, but it disappeared before she could reclaim it.

Against her will, Kairi and Riku each put one of her arms around their shoulders, lifting her to her protesting feet.  “Why do you have a sword?” Riku’s voice demanded in her left ear. Unable to use her arms to communicate, Aqua simply shrugged in response.

“Riku, don’t pester her!” Kairi scolded.  “She’s having a rough enough day as it is.”  Aqua couldn’t argue with that. Resigned, she allowed the pair to essentially drag her to the chamber.  Her new home, she supposed, at least until she could build up some strength in her legs.

Aqua had to admit, the room was like nothing she had ever seen.  She didn’t know names for most of the things in the room, but the large, soft-looking blue thing against the opposite wall was clearly what the pile of scratchy stuff in the dungeon had been meant as a substitute for.  Extricating herself from Riku and Kairi, she made a beeline for the thing, collapsing onto its welcoming softness. Lying there, she could almost imagine that she was floating in the ocean, though the calming waves and currents of her home were still absent.

Riku gave a low chuckle.  “Feels nice to have a real bed, doesn’t it?”

_ A bed.  I’ll have to remember that. _  Aqua nodded, rolling over onto her back so her head rested on the soft mounds at one end of the thing… the bed.

“Okay, time for you to leave.”  Aqua heard what sounded like a minor scuffle as Kairi ushered Riku from the room and closed the door behind him.  “There are fresh clothes in the wardrobe, and… and maybe we can go over this in the morning, can’t we? You look tired.”

Aqua gave another nod.  The bed was unbelievably comfortable, and after the ordeals of the day, she was ready to drift off to sleep.  Her eyes slid shut, and she heard the door open and shut once again, presumably as Kairi left. There would be time in the morning to explore the wonders of her new room, to begin to strengthen her legs and plan her escape, but for now, she needed sleep.  She felt her consciousness fading…

The door to Aqua’s room slammed open, and she jolted awake.  Disoriented, she couldn’t make sense of the bulky gray figure looming in the doorway.  The figure spoke in a deep rumble, all the more menacing for its levelness, and Aqua felt her heart sink as she recognized her captor.  “What. Is. This?”


	8. Chapter 8

Aqua rolled off the bed, somehow landing on her feet rather than flopping to the floor like a fish out of water. She shrugged at the beast, not sure how else to respond to his question.

The beast’s ever-present scowl deepened. “Insolent girl. What are you doing out of the dungeon?”

Aqua bristled, but before she could think of a way to translate a scathing reply into pantomime, a voice she had never heard spoke up from behind the beast. “Don’t take it out on her, Terra!” The young male voice was high and a little rough, as though the speaker was still growing into it.

The beast whirled on the invisible speaker. “I’ve told you not to call me that!”

“I know, I know!” The speaker sounded impatient and not at all respectful of his fearsome master. “That’s not the point!” His voice dropped to a whisper, and Aqua had to strain to make out what he was saying. “But if you let her stay as a guest, don’t you think she could be the one to break the spell?”

Spell? Aqua didn’t have time to think about it as the beast whispered a snappish reply. “She isn’t. How can she be, when she doesn’t even have a voice?”

“When are you going to let go of that stupid obsession?” the invisible boy pressed. “This girl might be your one chance!”

Aqua stepped closer, interested, but this caught the beast’s attention. He narrowed his eyes at her. “Don’t even think about following us.” With that, he left the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

So much for eavesdropping.

Aqua didn’t dare follow the beast and the invisible stranger, opting instead to look around her room. The soft stuff on the floor felt strange under her feet, though not entirely unpleasant. She made her way to one side of the room to examine a flat slab of polished white stone on four pegs with a smooth, reflective oval mounted above it. A variety of small, strange objects were arranged on shelves to either side of the reflective thing, and though she recognized some as resembling items from her collection, she couldn’t name any of them or determine their purpose.

Aqua examined herself in the reflection, amazed by the way her azure hair fluffed out when it was dry. She ran her hands through it, bemused by the feel of it as she teased out tangles. Why did dry hair have to be so difficult to tame? As she was adjusting it, she heard the door open and turned.

At first, nobody seemed to be there, but Aqua heard muffled footsteps, and moments later, the beast entered, presumably behind one or more of the invisible servants. “I have… come to a conclusion.”

Aqua blinked at his tone. If anything, he sounded almost awkward. She made a circling gesture with one hand, signaling him to continue.

The beast huffed. “Don’t make me change my mind. I’ve decided to allow you to stay here, not as a prisoner, but as my… my guest.” His voice made it clear that he had been pestered into this decision.

Aqua gave a wry smile, pointing at herself, then out the window, then tilted her head questioningly, hoping her meaning was clear.

It was, and the beast didn’t appreciate it. “You agreed to stay here in exchange for your friend’s freedom. Don’t think I’m going to let you go back on that.”

Aqua gritted her teeth, then gave a single nod. It was the most gratitude she was going to give her captor — because he was still her captor, whether he was calling her a prisoner or a guest.

“Good.” The beast turned and left, letting the door swing shut behind him.

“Sorry about him.” Aqua flinched, having forgotten about the invisible servant. Rueful laughter issued from thin air, and an indentation appeared in the bed as he presumably sat down. “Terra’s really a sweetheart once you get to know him.”

Aqua tilted her head to one side, furrowing her brow questioningly.

“Huh— oh, right, you can’t talk. That’s okay, I can do the talking!” A lighthearted laugh. “My name’s Sora, by the way. And I call the master Terra because that’s his name, though he’ll insist that that person is gone. I think he’s still in there somewhere, though.”

Aqua blinked, not sure how to reply to that even if had been able to use words.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Sora didn’t give her a chance to respond. “Since you’re a guest here now, can I show you around the castle?”

The door swung open again. “Sora, at least let her change out of that old cloak!” Kairi’s voice protested.

“Have you been listening outside?” Sora accused.

“No, I just heard the last thing you said, and I think you need to get your priorities in order.”

“Wouldn’t you want a tour if you suddenly found yourself in a huge new home?”

“She doesn’t even have shoes!” Kairi protested. “Go on, get out, you can give her your tour when we’re done!”

Aqua was relieved to find that although no sound issued forth, she was still able to laugh. Sora and Kairi fell silent, and she wondered if they had forgotten she was there.

After a brief pause, Sora’s voice issued forth again. “What do you think? Tour first, or new clothes?”

Clothes? It was sort of similar to the word croth, Aqua supposed, and she wondered if Ven had gotten the word wrong. She plucked questioningly at the croth she was wearing — what Kairi had called a cloak.

The servants misinterpreted the inquiry as an answer. “New clothes it is!” Kairi declared. Aqua heard a brief scuffle, then the door slammed shut. “Sorry about Sora,” she giggled. “Come on, let’s find you something better to wear.”

Two smaller doors on the front of a tall, narrow wooden box of some sort swung open, revealing a variety of clothes more intricate than any Aqua had ever found in shipwrecks or washed out to sea. Not sure how humans wore their clothes, she pulled out a variety of pieces that interested her, laying them out on the bed to get a better look at them.

Kairi’s voice was bright and curious. “This is quite the selection! Here, I have an idea…” The clothes began moving seemingly of their own accord, Aqua’s choices arranging themselves into a new configuration. She could tell by the shape that the deep ocean-blue piece on top was meant to fit her torso snugly, and the same went for the two conjoined black pieces the right shape to fit her legs. She had also picked out a flowing piece in a lighter shade of blue because it reminded her of home, and Kairi had arranged this artfully to provide a sense of decoration to the ensemble. To complete the look, a pair of shiny, foot-shaped casings stood at the base of the leg pieces.

“See those curtains over there?” Aqua froze at the question, wondering what curtains were. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wonder for long, as Kairi began to rustle a set of hanging pieces of… croth? Clothes? Neither of those seemed quite right, but Aqua didn’t know what to call them.

Kairi didn’t seem to notice Aqua’s dilemma. “You can change behind these. Take as long as you need.”

Aqua gave a nod and gathered up the clothes, pushing through the curtains and finding a small, enclosed space beyond with a short, plush thing on four pegs and a reflective surface similar to the one she had used earlier, only larger. She squirmed out of the cloak and turned her attention to her new clothes. It took some time, and they felt strange against her skin, but eventually she figured out each piece. The one thing she wasn’t sure about was the flowing thing. She wrapped it around her waist, where it billowed out behind her. This didn’t seem exactly right, but she liked how it looked and felt, so she kept it.

Aqua stepped out of the curtains and did a slow spin to show off her new clothes.

Kairi giggled. “You’re supposed to wear the cape around your shoulders, silly!”

Aqua grinned and shrugged, trying to act as if she had known this and consciously decided to do something different.

A hum issued from the air. “Well, it doesn’t look bad, but I think you need something to round out the look.” The box the clothes had come from opened once more, the clothes rustling as Kairi looked through them. After a few minutes, a pair of flared white tubes appeared on the bed. “Put these on your arms,” Kairi suggested.

A little skeptical, Aqua picked one up and slid it up her arm, finding a clasp to tighten the top and keep it in place. Once she finished, she found that she liked the way it swished around her wrist without getting in her way. She donned the other one and swung both her arms back and forth, then gave Kairi an enthusiastic nod.

Aqua wished she could see the smile to match Kairi’s tone. “I’ve never seen an outfit like that, but you look great!” An invisible hand seized Aqua’s wrist. “Ready for that tour now?”

Aqua nodded, allowing Kairi to lead her out of the room. “That took ages!” Sora’s voice complained as soon as the door opened.

“Be nice!” Kairi scolded. “Besides, doesn’t she look great?”

“She does,” Sora conceded. Another hand tried to seize Aqua’s wrist, sliding into an awkward position as it presumably collided with Kairi’s. Both hands abruptly pulled away.

“I’m going to go, I have to, um, I have, uh, laundry!” Kairi stammered, and Aqua heard her footsteps retreat rapidly down the hallway.

Aqua laughed silently as Sora grabbed her arm once more, perhaps a little tighter than necessary. “So, tour!” His voice was pitched considerably higher than it had been before.

From the inside, the castle didn't seem as huge or daunting as it had from outside, but that was not to say it was unimpressive. The vaulted ceilings and grand, sweeping corridors reminded Aqua of her own home, but she was amazed by the delicate, intricate images on the walls that she learned were called paintings and tapestries. Sora cautioned her not to touch them, but she was able to run her fingers along the finely carved, gilded wooden siding and railings, marveling at human creativity.

Eventually, Sora and Aqua wound up back in the entrance hall. “So what do you think?” he asked excitedly.

Aqua blinked. The had only toured half of the castle, so why was he asking now? She tilted her head in confusion, pointing toward a pair of doors off to one side to ask what was beyond them.

“Nope, not going in the west wing,” Sora said firmly, his tone more serious than Aqua had yet heard from him. “That’s where Terra’s private chambers are. He doesn't even let Kairi, Riku, or me see what’s beyond those doors.”

This, of course, sparked Aqua’s curiosity, but she couldn’t show that now. She resolved to wait until everyone was busy and nobody would expect her to be there. For the moment, she nodded to show Sora she understood.

“Sora?” Riku’s voice wafted from the direction of the kitchens. “If you’re done with that tour, I have lunch ready.”

“Riku is an amazing chef,” Sora gushed. “We all take turns cooking, but his cooking is my favorite. You ready to eat?”

Aqua’s stomach rumbled, and she realized she hadn’t eaten anything since leaving the ocean -- only yesterday, but it felt as though it had been ages. She nodded eagerly, allowing Sora to lead her to the dining hall. There would be time to plot her escape once she settled in and gained everyone’s trust, and in the meantime, accepting the invisible servants’ hospitality couldn't hurt, right?


	9. Interlude: The Imprisoned Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I had a really bad writer's block, but I think I'm mostly through it, so expect more updates within the next few weeks!

_ The previous day… _

The castle gates swung shut behind Ventus with a loud  _ clang.   _ Moments later, there was an ominous  _ boom  _ as the beast returned to the castle.  As soon as he was gone, Ven threw back his head and let out a wordless scream of frustration, tears leaking from his eyes.  Why did Aqua demand to take his place? Why did the beast  _ let  _ her?  He dropped to his knees and began to sob in earnest.

Ven wasn’t sure how long he cried, only that the sun was low in the sky when he finally dried his tears and stood.  With Aqua imprisoned in that awful castle, he couldn’t stand by and do nothing. He couldn’t exactly do anything on his own, and he didn’t think he was brave enough or crazy enough to try and reason with the beast, even if he thought there was the slightest chance of success.  That in mind, he decided to bring his case before King Eraqus.

Ven took off down the path by which he had approached, trying to formulate something like a plan as he ran.  How was he supposed to explain to the King how his daughter was a human when he didn’t even know himself? And what about his own secret?  He shook off that thought. He’d give up his own secret in a heartbeat if it meant saving Aqua.

Ven’s stress grew as the edge of the cliff came into view, and he scarcely slowed his pace even as he began his descent down the switchbacks.  Partway down, he began using them as stairs, making reckless jumps from one section of path to the next. Would anyone believe him if he couldn't explain how Aqua had become human?  No, he couldn't worry about that now. The King had magic, he could check for himself. He had to keep believing that.

At the pace he was moving, it wasn't long before Ven reached the bottom of the cliff.  Pausing just long enough to take off his croth coverings, he dove into the water, propelling himself forward with his arms even as his legs fused and his scales appeared.  

The ocean flashed past in a blur as Ven raced homeward toward the Sea King’s palace.  As he began to pass more populated areas, he heard surprised voices calling out to him, but he ignored them, bent on reaching the palace as quickly as possible.  His mind was a blur, grasping for any possible ideas to convince King Eraqus to listen to him. He figured he’d just have to convince the king to use his powers to check on Aqua himself; otherwise nobody would believe him.

The guards at the palace knew Ven, and they waved him in with no trouble.  He charged through the wide, sweeping hallways to the King’s study, where His Majesty spent most of his time.  “King Eraqus!”

The King turned, surprised.  “Ventus? Where have you been?”

“Never mind me, Aqua’s in trouble!” Ven burst out.

King Eraqus’s eyebrows shot up.  “Trouble? What’s going on?”

“She’s being held!”  Ven paused to take a few deep breaths.  “I was imprisoned by an enormous, horrible beast, and then she came along and begged the beast to take her instead, and I couldn’t get her to listen to reason, so now she’s trapped, and please, you’re the only one with enough power to help her!”

The King’s face hardened.  “I don’t have time for games, Ventus.”

“It’s not a game!” Ven cried, aghast.  “She’s really in trouble! Please, at least use your magic to check!”

“The power of the ocean flows through the royal bloodlines to allow its wielders to govern our domains,  _ not  _ for frivolous games.”

Ven had heard this speech a million times growing up; he and Aqua would beg Aqua’s father to use his magic for them since Aqua had yet to come into her own power, and every time, his answer would be the same.  As a young boy, Ven had grumbled, but he had never imagined being so utterly crushed by the King’s practiced lecture.

“Please, Your Majesty, I wouldn’t be asking if this wasn’t serious!” Ven begged, not really expecting to get through to him but knowing he had to try.

“Past experience tells me otherwise,” the King replied loftily.  “Now, if that is all, I have a kingdom to run, and I do not need any more interruptions.”

It was a clear dismissal, but Ven wasn’t going to leave without one last-ditch effort.  “I swear on all the stars, this time is—”

“That is your cue to  _ leave, _ ” King Eraqus interrupted pointedly.  “I’m sorry, but my answer is not going to change.”

Ven bowed.  “Yes, Your Majesty.”  Salt prickled behind his eyes, leaking out to mingle unnoticed with the water around him as he turned and left the study.  All he had was the fragile, fleeting hope that his clever, beautiful best friend would find a way to free herself. He clung to it, desperately wishing for it to be enough and knowing it couldn’t possibly be.  Unless Ven could get the King to see he was serious, Aqua might be doomed to remain a mute, captive human for time indeterminate.


	10. Making an Effort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for being patient with me! Life happens, but rest assured, I haven't abandoned this story!

Aqua glanced around despite knowing that her eyes wouldn’t be able to warn her of the presence of any invisible servants.  She had no reason to be worried; she knew for a fact that Sora and Riku were cleaning the dining hall while Kairi prepared that day’s dinner.  After more than a month living in the beast’s castle, Aqua knew everyone’s routine, so she felt confident that she had the perfect opportunity to sneak into the armory and steal her sword back.

Stealth wasn’t a new concept to Aqua, but sneaking was; it took more effort than she would have expected to keep her noisy human feet from making sound.  She made sure to be extra cautious on her way past the door to the west wing, since she couldn’t be sure whether or not the beast was nearby.

At last, the armory.  The castle’s residents didn’t keep it locked, and why should they?  It wasn’t as though they had a prisoner from whom they had confiscated a dangerous weapon… oh, wait.  Well, too bad for them. Aqua pushed open the door and slipped inside.

There was her sword Stormfall, forged in an underwater volcano and tempered in a riptide, just hanging on a rack on the wall among an array of land-forged swords.  A few minutes of searching yielded its sheath and her sword belt, and she strapped it on, immediately feeling a rush of confidence at its familiar weight. She yearned to explore the vast chamber and examine all the human armaments, but she’d surely be discovered that way, and she had a spell to break, after all.

Aqua left the armory and backtracked toward the main doors.  If there were other exits, she had yet to find them, so for now, the obvious route was her only chance.  If she was quick, she was certain she could make it. She sprinted across the entrance hall, slowing only to open the grand door and shut it quietly behind her before picking up her pace again.

She had made it almost to the outer gates when a firm hand gripped her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.  “I really wish you would stop that,” said Riku’s voice from the air to the right and behind her.

Aqua turned to face the voice, tilting her head in feigned innocence.

Riku let out what might have been a sigh or a chuckle.  “Running away. You made a promise to stay here.”

Aqua wrenched her hand out of his grip and crossed her arms, unimpressed.

“Yeah, I know the circumstances.  Why not at least give us all a chance?  You might find we’re not as awful as you think.”

Aqua tried again to make a break for it, barely making it two steps before Riku caught her again.  “Hey, stop that. Like it or not, this is your home now.” After a pause, his tone brightened. “How about I start teaching you to write in our language?  That way it’ll be easier for us to communicate.”

Aqua let out the loudest huff she could manage without a voice but nodded reluctantly.

“Great!”  The optimism in Riku’s voice sounded a little forced.  “Let’s head back in then.” He turned and re-entered the castle, never letting go of Aqua’s arm.  “I have things I need to take care of right now, but come to the library after breakfast tomorrow, okay?”

Aqua didn’t see that she had much choice in the matter, but she nodded anyway, at a loss for what else to do.  At least if she could communicate with her captors, she could let them know  _ exactly  _ how she felt about her confinement.

* * *

Aqua pushed open the library door.  As expected, there was nobody in sight.  Just inside the entrance, several tables stood in a row, all lined with chairs; the nearest bore stacks of the human versions of parchment and pen.  Beyond the tables, shelves upon shelves of leather- and cloth-wrapped stacks of paper the servants had called  _ books  _ stretched before her, retreating into the library farther than Aqua could see.  She approached the table with the writing tools, expecting Riku or one of the others to say something, but she heard no one.

Five minutes passed, then ten, with no sign of anyone near besides Aqua.  She idly picked up one of the pens, experimenting with gripping it until it felt comfortable in her hand.  It felt different from the thicker, tapered squid-ink pens she was used to, but it seemed to work the same way.  She began idly sketching to pass the time. Just as her mind was wandering off, the sound of voices outside the library jolted her from her reverie.

“What is it you want me to do, exactly?”  The beast’s deep, rumbling voice was unmistakable.

“You’ll see in a moment, my lord!”  Sora’s voice was chipper as always.

“Remind me why I’m taking orders from you and not the other way around?”  The beast sounded frustrated, and Aqua couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.  “I am your master, and it is your job to—”

“Take care of you, yes,” Kairi’s voice interrupted.  “You could turn back if you wanted to, but trust me, this is for your own well-being.  Plus Riku will stop you if you do.”

The beast let out an exasperated growl right as the library door swung open, but when he saw Aqua, the sound died in his throat.  “What is this?”

Aqua crossed her arms and glared in the general direction of the beast and the servants.  “You get to teach our guest to write!” Sora declared cheerfully. There was a scurry of footsteps, then the door slammed shut seemingly of its own volition.  A loud  _ click  _ echoed throughout the room.

The beast tugged on the door a few times, then slammed his body against it, to no avail; its solidness proved more than a match for even his bulk and strength.  “What is the meaning of this?” he bellowed.

“This is for your own good!” Kairi repeated, her voice entirely too smug.

“That’s not an answer!”

“Too bad!”  Sora sounded every bit as pleased with himself as Kairi.

“You— I— Rrrrrgh!”  The beast stormed over, plopping down heavily in the chair next to Aqua.  She raised an eyebrow at him, and his scowl deepened. “What? Do you think this is funny?”

Aqua shook her head, not sure  _ what  _ to think or feel.  She had been led to believe that Riku or one of the other servants would be teaching her, not her captor himself.  One thing was certain, though: she wasn’t laughing.

“Then, uh, let’s make this quick.”  There it was again — that barest hint of awkwardness that made him seem less like a monster and more like… well, like a person.  Maybe even someone she’d like to get to know, under different circumstances.  _ Very  _ different circumstances.

The beast stiffly picked up a pen, the writing implement appearing comically small in his enormous hand.  “So. Your language has an alphabet, right?”

Aqua nodded cautiously, and the beast took a piece of paper and began writing what she could only assume were letters.  Instead of writing forty-eight symbols as she expected, he stopped after twenty-six and began naming them.

It infuriated Aqua that she couldn’t ask clarifying questions.  The consonants were easy enough to understand, though there didn’t seem to be nearly enough of them, but how did humans manage with only five and a half vowels?  Why did they share so many sounds even from one vowel to another?

It didn’t help that the beast wasn’t the most motivated teacher.  It was clear that he shared Aqua’s desire to be done, but with none of her desire to communicate.  Every correction he made was brusque and impatient, and he didn’t even try to interpret her pantomime questions.  She stopped trying to ask after the first few, focusing on trying to figure out human rules of phonetics on her own paper.

A brief eternity passed before the lock finally disengaged, the door swung open, and Kairi’s voice came wafting over to their table.  “How’s it going in here?”

“Wonderful.”  The beast sounded as sincere as a picky merboy thanking his grandmother for a heaping plate of steamed sea slug, and Aqua felt a twinge of empathy; for the last few hours, he had been just as much a prisoner as she.

“So when do you two want to have your next lesson?” Kairi asked a little too cheerfully.

The beast scowled.  “If I never have to see her face again it’ll be too soon.”

So much for empathy.  Aqua began writing as hastily as she could manage in the human alphabet.  She figured her spelling was atrocious, but she couldn’t bring herself to care; she had a means of communication, and by her blood, she was going to use it!

> _ Stop toking abaot mi laik aim not hir! _

She thrust the note into the beast’s hands, and he jumped, then scowled deeper as he regained his composure.  He squinted at her note for a moment, then burst out laughing and held it up, presumably for Kairi to see.

Unlike the beast, Kairi actually acknowledged what Aqua had written.  “I’m so sorry, and I’m sure my master is too.” If he was, he showed no outward sign of it.  “And hey, it looks like you’re making good progress!”

Aqua shrugged, knowing she still had a ways to go before her writing would stop being laughable and become a viable means of communication.

Kairi, however, seemed delighted.  Aqua had only a patter of footsteps as a warning before Kairi ploughed into her, throwing slender arms around her in an unexpected hug.  “This is so great! We can actually talk now! Well, sort of. Hey, now you can tell us your name!”

_ My name.   _ It had been a month since anyone had actually used it.  She carefully extricated herself from Kairi and picked up the pen and a new sheet of paper.

> _ Aqua. _


End file.
